Back in the day, we travelled a fair amount as a family. And India was my parents' favourite destination. Typically to visit close friends and family. India was second home in a way. My father in the late 70s worked there for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2 years of my early life were in New Delhi.

Travelling as a family in later life is an experiential learning exercise. Individual idiosyncrasies come into full play and in some instances can prove quite challenging. Luckily for us, there were not too many clashing idiosyncrasies so travelling was relatively fun.

But the perception of certain countries can also make us behave in certain ways. And that way India brought up one main concern for my father. Not anyone else. That was the ‘Delhi belly’ (or I should say India belly). In hindsight, it is funny how my father who had spent many years in India always was concerned about his belly before he even got on the flight.

He had a narrative that played (on demand) in his brain before travelling to India. I remember telling him when I was older (and had developed my own thinking) that if he thought that before going he would surely have an upset belly during the visit.

And he did! On 9 out of 10 trips to India, my father had an upset stomach! He primed his brain for it.

Our narratives and we all have them for our various contexts play an important role.

Take me for example, I dislike dealing with my local government agencies. I have a narrative that comes whizzing into my brain, for local government agencies, which results in me postponing or avoiding the task. Until I can’t postpone anymore.

We have narratives for pretty much everything we do. Narratives for exercising, travel destinations, bosses, colleagues, friends, family, and more.

But here’s the thing, narratives can be changed! I have a new narrative, fuelled by curiosity, about our local government agencies and I must admit my experiences with them are improving. My curiosity has led to working with them online which has proved very effective.

BJ Fogg in his book, Tiny habits, talks about how changing a habit starts with a tiny action practised daily. And that it has to be done in a fun (positive) way and celebrated to get buy-in from the brain. It is a superb book but what caught my attention was in the beginning pages of the book.

Whilst he makes it sound simple, which it is, simple does not mean easy. Most of us who have tried to change a habit have failed in some way before succeeding. It takes effort but Fogg has simplified the process in his tiny habits formula. I will write more about his formula next time.

But the one thing he says we can all start doing right away which does not take any effort at all is to start the day with a positive affirmation.

“It’s going to be a great day”. And as you say it, try to feel optimistic.

That’s it. Simple. 7 words that prime your brain for the day. He keeps it real by saying that even on days when we might wake up feeling defeated, he adds one word – “somehow”

“It’s going to be a great day somehow”

What a great way to lay the foundational narrative at daybreak. I have made this my morning ritual. Even before I get out of bed, I say these 7 words.

Back to our contextual narratives. Listen to your narrative before your next conversation, meeting, interaction, journey or speech. Is it negative or positive? If it needs editing (which in most cases it may) re-write the narrative BEFORE your event.

And notice if there is a change in the outcome or you? Remember, our brains are biased towards the negative and although it may be valid in some contexts we still have control over OUR narrative. Warning: you may feel resistance and discomfort at first. But it is doable.

And the results may just surprise you.

And it starts with “it’s going to be a great day”!

And I wish you a great day!

As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com